Intermittent conveyer



Noir. 18, 1941. F. R. couMBE ETAL INTERMITTENT CONVEYER Filed Oct. 29,1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l N0v- 18, 1941 F. R. COUMBE' lETAL INTERMITTENTCONVEYER Filed Oct. 29,' 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet C5 o. .o Y/ ...u l J wm. @EW Nm QQ. N0- O0 v o:J N mn: lllt I@ Q n J. 'Il wh Nm. 2. w A E. Il r II,l H .s ruk x Nn om ffff om m.- A ro a o o is Wmv/Ouf V a o o 1/ n/l 3 S.m S o e p o Q N@ o wv vw mv mm vm Q Patented Nov. 18.1941

lUNITI-:D STATES vPA'iENT OFI-ICEl iN'rEaMrr'rEN'r ooNvEYB.

Frederick- R. Co'umbe and John W. Romig,

Corning, N. Y., assignors,. by mesne assignments, to Owens-ComingFiberglas Corpora--l tion, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of DelawareApplication october 29, 193s, serial No. 237,711

s claims. (cl. 164-48) hesively .attached to the fibres and joined atits This invention relates to the handling of fibrousmaterials and moreparticularly to mechanism adapted to form such materials into insulatingbats of desired configuration and methods of operating such mechanism.

Fibrous insulating materials of various ytypes are now commonly used inthe thermal insulation of buildings and various other structures whosetemperature lt is desired to control. Much of this insulation is appliedin the form of felted bat-s either with or without external covering`sheets. In general, these bats are formed by allowing a continuoussupply of the basic libres to settle through the atmosphere ontojacontinuously movingbelt forming a lfelted mass of fibres thereon- Thefibres may be of organic or mineral composition and either producedartiiicially or obtained from natural sources. cBinders may .be sprayedonto the libres as they collect to lend additional strength t the feltedmass and the degree of felting obtained may be influenced by drawing thebrev laden atmosphere through the foraminous conveyer by suitably`located suction means. The sheet of felted material thus formed`v issubsequently divided into sections of desired size vwhich are generallyknown as bats.

In certain handling operations connected with the manufacture ofinsulating bats, it has been found desirable'to separate the bats by aconsiderable space, one from another, as they are delivered from theforming mechanism` In the case of very short bats of a length of a footor thereabouts, this may veasily be accomplished by merely providing atake-oil. conveyer driven at a higher speed than the conveyer on whichthey are formed. VThis arrangement islimited in itslusefulness for withlonger bats several feet in length 'a stretching of the material occursbetween the two conveyers which results in'a reduction of the productfrom thethickness as manufactured and in extreme cases even result sintearing apart sections ofthe bat.

The object of the present invention isa means and method by which acontinuously produced mass of fibrous material of low strength may beautomatically divided into sections of appreciable length and a space ofdesiredextent established between adjacent sections-ofthe material aftertheir formation without subjecting these sections to undesirablestresses incident to their production;

A further object of the invention is a method of forming a partiallywrapped bat of fibrous insulation folded upon itself and held inposition by a continuous envelope of sheet material ad- 55 porous massends.

These and other objects are attained by the present-invention whichfeatures means for continuously forming and advancing a felted mass offibrous material, means for vperiodically severing sections frotm saidmass, means operating in timed relation with the severing means forperlodically arresting the movement ofthe fibrous mass adjacent theseveringv means and means for removing the severed sections.

Further features of the invention include means for bringing theseparated bats of fibres into contact with a continuous sheet ofvadhesively coated sheet material moving at the same speed as the batsand means for severing the coated sheet material between the spaced batsafter they have been attached thereto.l

The invention further features the formation of a packaged mass ofinsulating libres by joining a bat of felted fibrous insulation to acovering sheet of paper or similar material somewhat longer than thebat. folding the bat upon itself so that the fibrous material is withinthe covering sheet and using the extra length of the covering sheet as aflap to adhesively join the ends of the folded bat together.

These and-other features will be more readily apparent vfromconsideration of the embodiment of the invention disclosed in detail inthe ac companying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of the comani-sm for interruptingforward'l movement of the felted fibrous mass;

Fig. 3 is a deren eievation showmgfthe nbre lifting rack and a part ofthe operating mecha.-4

nism in both'raised and lowered positions;

Fig. 4 is a perspective detail showing the ilbrous mass sagging betweenconveyer sectionsA when the lifting rack is raised; and l Fig. 5 is aperspective of a folded bat of insulation encased in sheet material inaccordance with the invention. Referring in more detail to the structureshown in the drawings, Fig. 1 indicates diagrammat-- ically means forcontinuously forming and advancing a felted blanket of fibrous materialand means for intermittently severing and arresting cient strength topermit handling, such as wood and asbestos fibres, hair, mineral wooland the like, but in the drawings I8 indicates generally'a mechanism forproducing glass wool of the type disclosed in the British patent toTriggs No. 428,720. Fibres so produced are collected on the conveyer I2in a continuous felted mass I4 whose thickness is determined by the'rate of production of the fibres, the speed of the conveyer belt andthe manner in which they are compacted on the belt. In operation.conveyer I2 is driven continuously at a predetermined speed byconventional meanswhich are not shown.

Preferably, conveyer I2 extends but a short distance beyond the zone inwhich the brous mat I4 is formed, at which point the mat passes to asecond conveyer I8 which is driven at a slightly higher rate of speedthan conveyer I2. Conveyer I8 is formed of a number of narrow continuousbelts 28 which are supported in spaced relation by freely rotatablerollers 22. These rollers 22 are provided with circumferential grooves24 located between the belt supporting sections of the roller as shownmore clearly in Fig. 2. Belts '28 are driven from a drum 28 which ismounted Von a driven shaft 28 connected to 'a' suitable source of power.not shown. A flying shear typeJ of cutter blade representeddiagrammatically -at 88 is operatively mounted at the discharge end ofthe conveyer I8 and is periodically actuated by a regulable timingmechanism of standard make. not shown. v

Coextensive with the length of conveyer I8 and occupying the spacebetween the belts 28 is a lifting rack formed of a number of rods 32 ofangle iron or similar material. These rods are cut away at I4 so as toilt freelyinto the grooves 24 in rollers 22 and lie flush with orslightly .below the surface of the belts 28. These rods areinterconnected with and supported by a frame ,88

and are raised into operative position by bell position, it abuts thebracket 88 which with 'bracket 58 serves to attach slide bar `48 to thement with block 18 by a spring 82. As the slide block moves to the left,an inclined end 84 of the dog 88 engages the stop 54 whereupon furthermovement of the block 48 results in the release of the dog fromengagement with thrust block 18. l On release of the dog, the slideblock assembly is moved to the right again under the inliuence of thespring 84 and the weight of the rack 32. When the rack 'I0 and thrustblock 46 are retracted by operation of the piston 68, dog 88 i s raisedby an inclined surface 86 on thrust block 'I8 compressing spring 82which resets the dog as the block 46 reaches its extreme right positionof travel.

Motor 68 is operated by uid under pressure froma suitable source 88 bymeans of a control valve 88. This valve is of the conventional oatingpiston -type and is actuated by reducing the pressure on one end or theother by the actuation of pilot v alves opening to the atmosphere. Asshown in Fig. 2, the right-hand end of control valve 88 is connected bypipe 82 to a pilot valve 84 mounted on plate 88 in alignment with rack18. As the rack reaches its extreme left-hand position of travel, itengages a pivoted valve actuating lever 86 which opens valve 94 toatmosphere `thus reducing the pressure on the righthand end of valve 98and causing its iioating piston to move to the right under the influenceof the pressure communicated to its left-hand end from line 88 through aport in the piston. This movement of the piston causes alignment ofsuitable ports so that line pressure is applied to the left-hand end ofmotor 68 and connects the righthandendto atmosphere thus causingmovement a valved exhaust line |88 to atmosphere.

support plate, 88. Bar 481s slidably mounted in thereto may beadjustably determined byscrew 82 attached to' one end of the barand'threaded i into the adjacent bracket. Block n is normauy .urged tothe extreme right end of its travel by 82 and the brackets 88 and 88 andits position with respect brous material from contact with conveyer I8may be accomplished by means `oi' a' iluid motor 88 towhose 'piston rodi88 is attached a rack member 18. This rack is slldably supported at itsfree end in a bracket 'I2 and meshes with a gear forming part of anoverrunning clutch mechanism 14 mounted for rotation about a stud shaft|8.u The purpose of this mechanism will subsequently be more fullydescribed. Power from the iiuid motor 88 is transmitted to the slideblock .48 through a/thrust block 18 mounted on rack 18 which engages theend'of a pivoted dog In operation, bres are continuously produced at I8and the speed of the conveyer I2 so regulated as to give a felted bodyof fibres I4 of the desired thickness. The speed of conveyer I8 is thenregulated so as to `be enough faster than conveyer I2 to give thedesired spacing between the separated bats'. AThis speed is determinedby `the length of the bat being ,produced and the speed, all subsequentsections of the conveyer are preferably moved thereat with the possibleex- Y ception of the nal take-off section. Actuation of the shearmechanism 38 is timedwith respect to the speedof the conveyer I8 so asto cut the felted mass of bres I4 into bats I5 of the desired length.

rAs the shear mechanism 38 acts to sever a bat I8 from the felted massofibres I4, it opens the valve |84 relieving pressure on the left-hand endof valve 88 and causing itspiston to move to the left. In this position,the left-hand ,end of motor 88 is connected to atmosphere through lline|88 vand line pressure is applied to the righthand end'lforcing piston88 and rack' I8 to the left. A sprocket |88 isattached to one part ofthe overrunning clutch mechanism 14 and is;

continuously driven through chain ||8 from a sprocket II2 ilxedgon theend of the drum 2 8.

t andato? Initial movement of rack 10 to the left turns the gear withwhich it meshes which in turn actuates the clutch mechanism positivelyconnecting said'gear'to sprocket |08 so long as the-rack 10 is urged tothe left by piston 88. Since rotation of sprocket |08 is controlled bythe mechanism which drives conveyer I8, the clutch 14 restricts the rateof advance of the rack 'I0 to a constant predetermined speed in relationto the speed of the-conveyer I8. The initial movement of slide block 46to the left raises rack 32 sufllcientiy to llift the felted mass offibres I4 from contact with the conveyer I8 and arrest its forwardmovement. ,The subsequent travel of block at a constant speed controlledby' sprocket |08 determines the periodof time the bres are out ofcontactwith the conveyer and thus the extent of travel of the severedbat before the advance of libres I4 is continued, i. e., the spacebetween adjacent severed bats.

While accurate control of the space between bats is best"obtained by useofthe mechanism described above, a fairly accurate control may beexercised independent of the driving mechanism of the conveyer byregulation of the valves in the exhaust lines and |06 leading fromcontrol cylinder 90. If these valves are properly throttled, they permitonly a slow escape of air from behind the piston 68 and so retard itstravel for a sufficient period of time to give the vdesired separationof the bats.

During the period that the rack 32 is lifted and the felted fibres areout of contact, with conveyer I8, the fibres being deposited on conveyerI2 are continuously advanced and accumulate as a loop of mattedmaterialI in the space between conveyers |2 and I8. The showing of Fig.1,is of the mechanism at the moment when the racks have restored thefelted material Ilinto'contact with the conveyer I8, the loop ofaccumulated material appearing at III. Fig. 4 is a perspective showingthe accumulated material looped between the ends ofthe conveyers justbefore the rack 32 descends. The speeds of conveyers I2 and I8 are soproportioned that during the period that the material advances betweenoperations of the shear mechanism 30 and the rack 32, the loop ofaccumulated material is eliminated and advanced onto conveyer I8. Thus,the loop of material ||4 accumulated while-the mass Il Ais supported onrack 32 never` exceeds the length of the space between adjacent bats andnever becomes unwieldy.

As' the severed bats leave the shear mechanism 30, they are carried byconveyer ||6 through aI drying chamber II8 heated by suitable means suchas gas burners |20. Conveyers ||6 is driven at the same speed asconveyer I8, as for example, by chain ||1 driven from shaft 28. By sucha treatment, the fibres may be relieved of any excess moisturelpreviously introduced in the.

forming operations and if a binder has been applied to the fibres, suchtreatment 'may be so regulated as to dry or harden the binder to thedesired degree. Conveyer ||6 preefrably terminates shortly beyond theoven II8 to permit the introduction of an adhesively coated sheet oibacking material between the bats andthe next conveyer |22. As shown, aroll of paper or cloth |24 is rotatably positioned beneath the conveyer|22 and the web therefrom is passed in contact with a coating roll |26dipping into a bath oradneslve material m. The coated web |29 thenpasses around guide roll |30 and onto conveyer |22" where its coatedsurface contacts the bat.

Adhesion of the bats tothe web is insured by a pressure belt |32positioned above and in contact with the bats. Conveyor |22 lmaybedriven byany suitable means at the same speed as conveyer I|8, but asshown is driven from conveyer ||6 by a chain |34. As the web andadhering bats leave conveyer |22, they pass below a second shearmechanism |36 which is so timed in` its operation as to cut the webbetween the bats and preferably ata point slightly in advance oi' theleading edge of the bat.

The adhesive applied by roll |26 is preferably a thermoplastic materialsuch as asphalt or the like. In any event, it is desirable that theadhesive remain soft and sticky until after the material .passes theshear |36. 'I'his is oi particular advantage in the formation of aproduct such as shown in Fig. 5 since it permits folding the bat uponitself and sealing the exposed end merely by turning up the intermediateflap |38 of the coated web. This operation is preferably performed asthe bat is'removed by take-off conveyer-|40. Such a coating sheet holdsthe ilbrous material to a desired form and size and materially aids inthe handling and installation of 'the product inV the wall spaces ofhouses,re frigerators, and the like.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to aparticular modification, it

must be realized that this description is by way of illustration and notof limitation and modification and substitution is to be expected withinvthe scope of the present invention.

We claim:

1. The method of forming a spaced series of bats of fibrous materialwhich comprises continuously forming and advancing a body of fibrousmaterial, periodically severing a portion of said body to form a bat,removing said bat at a constant speed, interrupting the advance of theadjacent portion of the body from which it was severed fora'predetermined time interval, accumulating the continuously formed bodyduring this time interval, and resuming the advance of the portion ofthe body from which the bat was severedat the speed of removal of thebat, said speed being such as to take upthe accumulated portion of thebody by the time the next bat is severed.

2. The method of forminga spaced series of bats of fibrous materialwhich comprises continuously forming and advancing a body of fibrousmaterial, periodically severing a portion of said body to form a hat,removing said bat at a constant speed, interrupting the advance of theadjacent portion of the body from which it was severed for apredetermined time interval, ac-

cumulating the continuously formed body durl forming a felted mass offibrous material including a continuously moving conveyer for advancingsaid material, a second conveyer adapted to receive and advance thematerial advanced by said first conveyer, intermittently operable meansfor cutting thematerial advanced by said second conveyer into separatepieces, and means operating in timed relation with said cutting meansfor intermittently arresting the advance of the material on said secondconveyer, said arresting means including means for lifting said'material from contact with said second conveyer and restoring it tocontact therewith.

4. The combination of means for continuously forming a felted mass ofiibrous material including a continuously moving conveyer for advancingsaid material, a second continuously moving conveyer adapted to receiveand /advance the material advanced by said first conveyer,intermittently operable means for cutting the material advanced by saidsecond conveyer into separate pieces, and means operating in timedrelation with said cutting means for intermittently arresting theadvance of the material on separate pieces, and ymeans operating' intimed relation with said cutting means for intermittently arresting theadvance of the material on said second conveyer for a predeterminedperiod of time and a continuously moving take-olf conveyer associatedwith said mechanism and driven at the same surface speed as said secondconveyer.

6. In a device for forming pats of fibrous material, means forcontinuously forming a felted mass of fibrous material including acontinuous conveyer for removing the formed material, a sectionalconveyer system adjacent said ilrst conveyer and in alignment therewith,said conveyer system having a higher lineal rate of. travel than saidrst conveyer, means associated with said conveyer system for dividingthe felted mass of libres into bats and means for causing the conveyersection adjacent said iirst conveyer to intermittently advance thematerial received fro said iirst conveyer.

FREDERICK R. COUMBE. JOHN W. ROMIG.

